The life we have selected for ourselves on our small parcel of food producing land is not entirely one of self sufficiency but certainly can head towards it. Each time I pick a vegetable from the garden and use it in my cooking I give myself a congratulatory pretend gold star. I high five myself ever so discreetly when I've denied a supermarket at least the cost of this home grown, transported and consumed item. When I've used more than one ingredient from our trial and error planted offerings I'm at the point of a warm glow inside equal to at least a large purple elephant stamp on my homework. Whilst joyful of frugalness of a few less items bought in the weekly shop is great, we are a long way off avoiding the shop altogether. We can't grow toilet paper and sewing my own anything is a craft yet to be acquired. The ability to make do, repair, recycle and reuse is a whole new hessian bag of skills that needs to be learned as I'm probably part of the first generation that lost it. The life I am so keen to emulate is nothing more than what my ancestors were very familiar with. They didn't grow up on a farm, but they grew lots of what they ate, and made mostly what they wore. They chopped wood for fires, ate meat that was local and baked their own for birthdays, babies and special events. They didn't need to learn, they were essential life skills that were taught. My grandmother (pictured on the left, not sure who the scary woman is with the bird on her shoulder but I suspect it's Jack Sparrow's mother) would roll on the floor laughing if she knew what we didn't know today. Basics like baking, sewing, knitting..err, polishing etc. So while I'm quietly smug about my non consumer achievements I'm just relearning what was already learnt many years ago.
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